By this point, you probably recognize the name Bossa Studios. While they aren’t creating AAA titles, they are a BAFTA nominated/awarded studio. If that doesn’t do anything to jog your memory, perhaps the name Surgeon Simulator 2013 will help. Yes, the developer that really paved the way for the Simulator genre to take off has recently launched one of their most ridiculous titles on PS4. I Am Bread can now be enjoyed on the console of the controller that was used in development.
If your bread and butter in games is a steep learning curve in controls, you’ll love controlling a piece of bread. While it gets easier with practice, I can’t say I ever really became proficient. And while controls like this may turn people away from the game, it’d be a shame to not give it a chance. Sure, the game’s point is to become toast in each level by whatever means necessary, but there is a lot to enjoy here. The extremely dark story that you can just as easily dismiss is a great feature of such a seemingly silly game, and finding unique ways of fulfilling your life goal of becoming the perfect piece of cooked bread are what will really drive you. Do you go toward the obvious answer that’s set in front of you, or do you explore the level to create your own makeshift toaster?
The game contains more challenges than merely the controls – the main one is making sure you stay edible. As a piece of food, do you really want to get dirty so you’re thrown out? Or even worse, start being consumed by mold? So naturally, when traversing the levels, it’s in your best interest to do so without touching things that are inherently gross for food to touch, such as the floor. Once you become 100% inedible, it’s game over. Become disgusting enough times and you can choose to get through the level without worrying about becoming inedible, but your score will be horrendous – this option is mainly implemented to let you explore the level and discover paths/strategies without the frustration of needing to start over again and again. Whether you choose to ride the objects in the level to avoid dirt, climb along the walls and fly over the dirt and germs, or something else entirely, it’s up to you (unless the game’s physics (or lack thereof in the case of some glitches) have anything to say about it).
In addition to the story mode, which serves as a prequel to Surgeon Sim, the PS4 version also comes with all the other modes unlocked from the very start. No need to figure out how to unlock them! Hunt down cheese to put all over your bready body in Cheese Hunt; race through checkpoints and give rubber a run for its money in Bagel Race; explore the world around you in Free-Play; do what a baguette does best and destroy as much of the house as possible in Rampage; travel through spaaaaaaaaaaace or at least a no gravity zone as bread in Zero-G.
That’s a whole lot of adventure for a piece of bread. Is it an adventure worth embarking on? If you don’t mind controls that will test your patience for the beginning and possibly throughout the game, the quirkiness and charm will most likely get to you. Some of the level design reminded me of Katamari Damacy and Mr. Mosquito, and anything that makes me think of the Prince is cool with me. However, I don’t believe quirkiness will be enough to please the mass majority of players at its full price (nor will the extremely dark humor hit all the bases), but it’s a game that everyone should rise to the occasion to try at some point.
6 out of 10
Pros
- Completely Unique
- Dark Humor
- Exploration is Rewarded
Cons
- Difficult Controls
- Physics Based Glitches
I Am Bread was developed and published by Bossa Studios. The game launched on PC April 9th, 2015, and on PS4 August 25th for $12.99. The PS4 version of the game was provided to us for review. If you’d like to see more of I Am Bread, check out the official site.
Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.
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